


Omori: Falling, Tumbling, Recovering

by gen3king



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Continuation, Child Abuse, Childhood Trauma, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Suicide Attempt, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:27:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29330814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gen3king/pseuds/gen3king
Summary: Sunny looked down at his feet, the truth out. All of it. His feelings for Aubrey, he even admitted to seeing Kel and Hero as his family...But even though he had spoken he had made his choice."Sunny?" Aubrey asks, a mix of anger in worry in her eyes as she approached him.He sprints away before anyone can react."Sunny!" Basil yells, fear in his eyes. He can tell by the way Sunny was going he was heading for the roof."I'll get him!" Hero exclaims rushing out the door....But it's to late...The headline reads the next day, sending Basil into a panic attack, "Boy jumps from roof, rendered comatose."After telling the truth but being to afraid , Sunny decided to take his own life as a form of atonement and a final apology to his friends, ending up in a coma as a result. The friend group now needs each other more than ever as Hero finally breaks down, Aubrey falls into despair, and Basil...Basil has to step up.When he needs help the most out of anyone...
Comments: 41
Kudos: 152





	1. Chapter 1

Sunny looked down at his feet, the truth out. All of it. His feelings for Aubrey, he even admitted to seeing Kel and Hero as his family...

But even though he had spoken he had made his choice.

"Sunny?" Aubrey asks, a mix of anger in worry in her eyes as she approached him.

He sprints away before anyone can react.

"Sunny!" Basil yells, fear in his eyes. He can tell by the way Sunny was going he was heading for the roof.

"I'll get him!" Hero exclaims rushing out the door.

...

But it's to late...

The headline reads the next day, sending Basil into a panic attack, "Boy jumps from roof, rendered comatose."

Basil is shaking, the walls close in around him, despite the bright florescent lights above, the cold air in the room feels like fire in his lungs. His vision blurs around the newspaper. The words morph and change into eyes, starring back at him. They demand of him, "You really did a great job protecting him? Didn't you?"

Basil hears a distant voice calling out to him, but all he sees is that picture of Sunny, in a stretcher, bleeding heavily. Blood drips off the stretcher onto the pavement. So much red...

Just like when Mari fell...

"Basil..." a voice whispers.

Something nudges him. Basil feels like he's going to throw up. He feels hellfire in his stomach as it rises up his throat. 

"Basil," a voice speaks, louder.

Something is shaking him. Something is going to hurt him. This is his fault! He's going to be killed because he deserves it! He's why Sunny had to hide the truth! Basil should have just taken the fall! It's his fault! He hung Mari! He-

"Basil!" Aubrey screams, shaking Basil with worried tears in her eyes, "Basil! I'm here! Snap out of it!"

Basil is shaking violently, his voice trembled as he asks, "What... What happened?"

Aubrey hugs him tightly, "Basil... it's..."

And she says the worst thing she can say, albiet with the best of intentions, "Everything is going to be OK..."

Basil's heart rate spikes, he tenses. He told to that to Sunny! Look to happened to him! Is this a threat!?! She's gonna kill him too! She knew it! 

Basil can't breathe, his vision blurs, his lungs feel like fire...

"Doctor!" Aubrey screams desperately, "Someone! Help! He's not breathing right!..."

The doctor informs Polly over the phone, "Basil's levels of stress will kill him if they continue Ms. Polly. He experienced a mild heart attack today."

"I'm on my way," Polly replies dashing out the door, "Keep him safe. I'll figure something out."

Polly hangs up, and begins to cry. She knows Basil is dying from stress, now Sunny is in a coma, Sunny, who she knows means the world to Basil... This is killing Basil and she...

She can't lose him. She... She just can't. Not... not again.

She looks at an old photo in her wallet, she cries, as if longing for something gone, and mutters to herself, "Never. Never again..."

She closes her wallet and heads to the hospital...

Hero too struggles, but he has other, independent problems...

Hero wipes the blood off his face, starring at his reflection in the bathroom of the apartment. His eye is black and swollen, he feels sick to his stomach as he spits blood into the sink. It contrasts the white, clean material as it it washed away by the flowing water, his tears going down with it. 

Why is he doing this?

He knows he isn't happy like this he knows she isn't-

There's a knock on the door. A voice asks, "Hero are you OK?"

Hero takes a deep breath, lying through a forced smile, "Of course dear, never better."

Hero exits the restroom, seeing a young woman with fair skin and long black hair. She breaks a striking resemblance to Mari, uncanny even. 

"Let's go Hero," she smiles exiting.

"I..." Hero replies anxiously, "I... I'm not feeling up to dinner. Maybe some other-"

Hero flinches as she places a hand on his black eye, this gesture, which should be tender and loving, caring and comforting sends a searing pain outward from the injury. "Hero..." She speaks with a hidden harshness, "Buddy... come on. You know you worked hard to get these reservations. Are you really that selfish? Don't you wanna be my little Hero?"

Hero sighs. A part of him screams to run away, that this is wrong, but... he clings to that resemblance to Mari, and concedes, "OK... let's go..."

Finally, there is Sunny himself, comatose in a hospital bed. Kel listens to the heartbeat monitor, the sound of the heartbeat, comforting him, knowing Sunny is alive if asleep, easing his stress slightly but...

He's still crying. He asks Sunny, "Was I wrong? Was I wrong to knock that day? Sunny... I'm sorry... I just wanted my friend, my brother, back. I had no idea... I was going to forgive you. We were going to forgive you... you didn't have to do this..."

Kel collects himself and sighs, "I'm going to be here when you wake up... I promise..."

Basil gently shuts the door, having seen everything, and thinks to himself. He blames himself. He did this to them, he hung Mari, now he has to fix it. He...

He has to fix this. It's his responsibility to fix everything. Everything that he thinks he broke.

But Basil is misled. Basil is following a dangerous path of self destruction and martyrdom that will end with him in the grave, only hurting everyone more. 

Basil forces a smile, his mouth feels like it's being held in place by fishhooks. He lies to himself, "Everything is going to be OK..."

Finally, there is Aubrey, who has broken down since Basil's heart attack and Sunny's suicide attempt. She loops that same song, over and over again, singing it through tears as she tries to comfort herself, "You are my sunshine... my only sunshine... you make me happy... when skies are grey..."

Aubrey is MISERABLE.

Hero is MISERABLE.

Kel is MISERABLE.

And...

Basil is STRESSED OUT.

This can only end so well, the events that are about to unfold could be tragedy or recovery from said pain, but for now...

Polly is going to check on Basil...


	2. You'll Be Here Soon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aubrey is desperate, Kel breaks down, and Basil turns to self harm.

Basil approaches Kel, placing a hand on his shoulder. Kel jumps out of his skin, and, his eyes still red from crying, he forces a smile to reassure Basil. He's very worried about Basil and refuses to let Basil worry so he assures, "Everything is going to be OK Basil. He'll wake up eventually."

Again that phrase, that phrase he told Sunny a long time ago. It isn't going to be OK. This is his fault. He did this. He...

He needs to atone, or such is the lie his insecurities tell him, and he needs to do so by being there for everyone. 

And now he's going to be here for Kel.

He embraces Kel, assuring, "It is. It is going to be OK. It's OK to cry, Kel."

And Kel, hearing this, what he's wanted to hear for four years, finally allows himself to cry. He breaks down crying in Basil's embrace, spilling, "I'm why he's like this, I'm the one who pushed him. Just like I pushed everyone back together. Cause I was lonley and selfish!"

"No no," Basil assures him, "You're not selfish. You're not selfish at all. You just wanted to help everyone."

"No I am selfish," Kel replies, "I just hated being alone with Hero gone. I hated seeing Aubrey so angry all the time. I hated seeing you so scared all the time and I thought Sunny would fix it."

"You wanted to help everyone," Basil assures, "That's as selfless as it gets."

"But look what happened!" Kel exclaims, "He killed Mari, tried to kill himself, and attacked you!"

Basil knows that last part is a lie, his heart pounds as Kel continues, "What set him off? He could have talked to us. It wasn't his fault! I'm so sorry I didn't see the red flags. He stabbed Aubrey! I should have known he was unstable! No wonder you were so scared as to stab at his eye!"

Basil is AFRAID. He feels sick. That's not what happened. If Sunny didn't defend himself he was going to-

"I promise we'll work this out," Kel continues, "And... I'm not going to fake a smile anymore. That's all it was, I never processed Mari's death. I took it decently well and I guess I was mostly happy but... I do need to face my problems and I'm not going to hide them from everyone anymore. If I didn't panic when Sunny was about to leave and tried to act sooner, more calmly... If we all did..."

Basil hates himself for his hyprocrisry in this moment. Lying to him right when he's telling the truth.

Basil feels his lungs burning again. 

He feels his heart pounding.

He is in the early stages of another heart attack and if he doesn't calm down...

"It's all..." Basil gasps out, "Going... to be OK... just... one second..."

Basil rushes out of the room, hyperventilating. He needs to calm down. He can't breathe, eyes appear in the dark corners of the halls, starring at him, judging him.

Mari's eyes.

Sunny's eyes.

He grits his teeth, he wants to hurt something to get everything out. He wants to bite down at something to get it all out. Just to make it all stop!

This is a horrible and dangerous idea, anyone feeling this way should seek help because they are worth helping but...

Basil falsely believes he isn't.

Basil gets an idea. A horrible idea as he pulls up his sleeve to look at his pale arm. Pain and something to focus on. Everything he falsely thinks he needs right in front of him, easy as pie.

...

Basil bites down on his own arm. He feels a full pain from where his teeth make impact, and bites down harder. He stomps him foot to keep from screaming as the pain spreads up his arm.

Some part of him understands the danger of his misdeed, the danger to himself he is creating, but he hates himself to much to care. He takes deep breaths, looking as the bruise left behind where he bit down, and pulls up his sleeve to conceal the wound.

"I have to fix this," he lies to himself under his breath, "I don't deserve help anymore. It's my responsibility to help them, not the other way around."

Basil hears over a speaker, "Will Basil please report to the front desk for check out?"

Basil us confused, why is he being let out now? He was not informed he would be leaving. 

It doesn't quite click that after talking to Aubrey he fell unconscious, and this choice was made during that time gap. He approaches the front desk where Polly rushes to hug him, much to his shock, she asks him, "Are you OK?"

Basil silently nods. Asking, "What's going on?"

"Doctors say you need to rest at home," Polly explains, not mentioning why due to a fear that knowing his life is at risk would increase stress and increase the risk, "Come on. We'll go get some ice cream, it's going to be OK..."

Basil doesn't believe that at all. Not for a second. He falsely believes it'll only be OK if he makes it OK. That this is the only path, he doesn't know, or maybe just doesn't care, it ends with him in a grave.

Aubrey hasn't left her house, or her room since. She psychologically snapped, singing that song over and over and over for hours. An old tape, from which the song plays, finally gives out. This snaps her back to reality and she wipes her tears. She needs to get out of here. She can't live here any longer. She's desperate to escape. 

She has someone who can help.

Kim's phone ring. 

"Hello?" She asks. 

The voice on the other ends informs her. 

"I told you I hated that plan and it should be a last resort!" Kim exclaims. 

The voice on the other end does not budge. 

"I'll get the others," Kim sighs, "Get evidence, we'll have you out at three tomorrow."

Kim grabs a butterfly knife from her bedside table, sighing, "It's going to be OK... Aubrey..."


	3. Trimming the Basil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basil's self harm goes worse as Aubrey's life starts to get a whole lot better.

Ten minutes in the future...

Basil grips his shears, his enemy stands before him, death in their eyes, and...

He stands alone.

His lungs burn, he knows his time is short to defeat this enemy.

Just needs to focus on the pain to calm down...

Basil's enemy...

Is less a danger to Basil than Basil himself...

How did we get here?

Ten minutes ago.

Present.

Basil wakes up to eyes, looking at him in the unlit corner of the room. Sunny's eyes.

"You asked if I hate you," a voice comments, his voice, "After I jumped, what do you think? I fucking despise you."

Basil shakes his head, "Then why didn't you just... finish the job."

The eyes glare, "Its more fun to watch your body do it itself. Rip itself apart."

Basil is AFRAID.

Basil gets out of bed, trying to think and ignore the hallucination. On some level he knows he's dying but he's unable to face it, refuses to tackle the issue, as that would entail admitting he has value, which he falsely beleives to be false. He mistakenly thinks that he is worthless, when he, like any life, has immense worth by default. 

He feels like the walls are closing in around him, and decides he needs some fresh air. He dashes out the door, his stomach to twisted in knots to eat anything. He stops, spotting the shears sitting by one of the bonsai trees, Polly must have been trimming it...

Basil takes the shears, the eyes in the shadows smile at him, revealing to him how dangerous this choice really is.

He exits the house to see the hooligans gathered outside of Aubrey's house. A sense of foreboding looms as they argue. Vance stands by a beat up red van, the most calm of the group.

"I am going to break down that fucking door!' Kim yells.

Mikhael grabs him, "Aubrey told us to wait!"

Basil wonders if Aubrey is in danger. Aubrey is a lot more sensitive than she looks from the outside, and Basil had always cared deeply for her. Not in the same way as Kel and Hero, and if she's in danger cause of what he did...

Basil looks closely in the trash around the house, and spots it...

That's...

That's a crack pipe. A broken crack pipe, in the pile of trash. 

Basil is ANGRY. 

That's what must be going on. Basil refuses to let her be hurt! He has to save her! He has no choice! Not because of atonement, well nor fully, but because he cares about her.

Basil rushes past the hooligans, kicking the door of the house in before anyone can react. What he saw filled his mind with fear as the eyes swallowed him whole. 

Aubrey's nose was bleeding, her eyes full of fear as her mother screamed, "I birthed you, you ungrateful brat, and you try to turn me into the police! You owe me your life!"

Aubrey clenches a photo in her hand, Basil catches a glimpse of it to see it's of Aubrey's mom smoking crack, evidence. 

This was Aubrey's desperate plan, get proof and get out, but the plan went south...

"Stay away from her!" Basil yells drawing the garden shears.

Aubrey's mom is FURIOUS, and Basil faces her alone. 

Basil is AFRAID. 

Basil's lungs burn, his vision blurs. He needs to calm down. He needs to...

Skill: CUT SELF.

Is it wrong to cut? Biting worked right? What's one cut? It's OK, no one will know.

Such are the dangerous thoughts of self harm.

Basil cuts himself, blood drips from his arm onto the floor, the red fluid warm on his flesh as he lets out a sharp exhale.

Basil is now calm and prepares to fight off Aubrey's mom. 

Aubrey's mother strikes at Basil's eye with her fist, Basil recoils in pain as he hears Aubrey escape. Basil kicks Aubrey's mother to stagger before sprinting for the exit.

Aubrey's mother gives chase, Aubrey rushes forward with her friends yelling, "Basil! Get behind me!"

Aubrey protects Basil, shielding him from a second blow from her mother which she takes to the stomach. Vance rushes forward, tackling Aubrey's mother before yelling, "Everyone in the car! Now!"

Mikhael realizes what the plan is and slams the large back doors of the van open, Aubrey takes Basil's hand exclaiming, "Come on! Let's go!"

Kim hops into the car with the others, shutting the doors as Vance rushes into the driver's seat. Everyone takes a moment to calm down after what just occurred. So much just happened so fast, Aubrey was assaulted, has proof of her mom's abuse, Basil rushed in without warning, and no one truly sure what to say. They used to bully Basil, why the Hell would he help?

"Thanks," Mikhael breaks the silence awkwardly, "I'm... sorry we weren't in good terms for a while, or... I'm assuming we aren't now."

Basil shakes his head. Yeah they were jerks in the past but he would rather move on and forgive, not realizing this is how his friends feel about Mari. 

Why hold a grudge when they could get along, if they are willing to change he is willing to forgive, especially when he has done worse than they ever have. 

Besides his old friends hate him anyways, or so he falsely believes, so he'll need to find new ones.

"I don't see a reason to hold a grudge," Basil explains, "We can become friends if you guys like I guess."

Aubrey has now collected herself, happy that she's free and that Basil seems OK...

Until she looks closer and sees the stain on his jacket sleeve, right near the wrist, growly outwards slowly from the wound. 

Aubrey can tell instantly that something is wrong, not just physically, but emotionally. She spots the shears in Basil's hand, dripping with blood.

Aubrey requests of Vance, deciding to get breakfast and a chance to talk to Basil both "Hey can we stop to grab a bite to eat? Vance?"

"Let's get out a little bit further," Vance replies, "Bit risky when your mom is still within walking distance."

Aubrey nods in agreement, looking at the photos she took. They're almost like those Basil used to take, but twisted and perverted by time and trauma. Corrupted distortions of those happier times. 

The first photo is of Aubrey with a black eye taken some time ago, written on the back is, "I have an idea. A desperate idea but it's all I have. I need to start taking photos of my mom's abuse, then I can use that to call CPS."

The second photo is of her mother giving cash to a shady man in a cloak, on the back is written, "This must be my mom's drug dealer. If I can get a picture of her doing it I'm free, but she'll see me take it so, it'll work as a last resort."

And the third photo, of her mom smoking crack, charging her as she spots Aubrey with the camera. In truth, this one speaks for itself. 

The car stops at a fast food joint. Kim smiles as Basil, helping him up, "Come on it's on us."

Basil is confused, why would they care about someone like him? He corrects, "No it's fine I-"

Vance elaborates, "Kid, you rushed in when we were all to scared to, which you shouldn't have done because that was dangerous, but you still did come to help. You're our friend now, and after how we treated you before, it's the least we can do."

Aubrey nods, adding, "You guys head on in, we'll catch up."

The others can tell Aubrey is being serious and head outside. 

Now, self harm is a serious matter, it should be handled sternly but gently. With kindness, resolve, and understanding. While Aubrey has only the best intentions, she handles it harshly, grabbed Basil's arm and pulling up his sleeve to reveal the wound, demanding, "Why did you do this?"

Basil if AFRAID, but quickly manages to lie, "Your mom stabbed me."

"My mom didn't have a knife," Aubrey retorts, "Now... Basil..."

Aubrey looks Basil dead in the eye and demands, "Why did you cut yourself?..."


End file.
